Hall of Fame

Matildas move to eighth in the world

The Westfield Matildas have surged to their highest ever standing, climbing two spots to No.8 in FIFA’s latest Women’s World rankings.

The Westfield Matildas have surged to their highest ever standing, climbing two spots to No.8 in FIFA-s latest Women-s World rankings.

The Matildas jump comes on the back of their 2-0 away defeat of France in Angers last month and sees them level with AFC rivals Korea DPR.

Head Coach Hesterine de Reus, while keen to acknowledge that the ranking was just a number said the achievement was good for team morale and a reward for the work the squad has put in since she took over the national set-up.

"Of course it's great the team have reached their highest ever ranking," said De Reus. "Especially considering we have not played many international matches lately.

"It was a very good experience to be away with the team (in Europe), though our performances were very inconsistent, so this is something we will need to improve leading into tournaments."

The top six nations werer unchanged with the USA maintaining their place at the summit, however Germany closed ground to the world-s best for the last five years following their win at the Women-s Euro 2013 tournament in Sweden.

World champions Japan come in at third to retain their place as Asian Football Confederation-s top ranked nation.

A total of 111 matches were played since the last edition of the world rankings, with the Matildas defeating France after losing the first match of their recent European tour to the Netherlands.

The Matildas also accounted for New Zealand in a thrilling penalty shoot-out during this time, who retain their place in the Women-s top 20, coming in at No.19 in the rankings.